Overview of Myers-Briggs: What is it and How to Use it

Human beings are multifaceted individuals with multiple personalities. The personality of a person simply means the total sum of their traits. For instance, a person who is a thinker and extrovert is different from a person who is a thinker and introvert. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator highlights different personality traits and how they can be used in work, career, daily interaction, and personal growth.

What is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator?

It is a self-assessment inventory that can help a person to identify their personality type, preferences, and strengths. This questionnaire-like test was developed by a daughter-mother duo, Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs. It’s one of the most popular free career self-assessment tools and a top psychological instrument.

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator inventory consists of eight personality traits which are grouped into two to create 4 main groups. Additionally, the components of the 4 character groups can be used to create an array of 16 characters. They include:

Extraversion [E]: people and things

Introversion [I]: information and ideas

Sensing [S]: facts and reality

Intuition [I]: potential and possibilities

Thinking [T]: logic and truth

Feeling [F]: Relationships and values

Judgment [J]: Well-structured lifestyle

Perception [P]: The flow of things

How Does Myers Briggs Type Indicator Work for Choosing Career?

By using the answers obtained from the Myers Briggs Type Indicator inventory, a person is identified as having one of the 16 personality types. The main objective of this personality test is to allow users to understand and explore their own personalities by knowing their strength, weakness, likes, dislikes, career preferences among others.

Note: in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test, there is no personality that’s considered greater or better than the rest. Additionally, this is one of the best free career self-assessment tools that doesn’t look for abnormality or dysfunctions.

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is made up of a questionnaire that has four types of scales. They include:

Extraversion [E] – Introversion [I]

This scale is designed to determine the way people interact with others. Extroverts or extraverts are usually social oriented and tend to enjoy interacting with others. Additionally, they are action-oriented and normally tend to feel energized after interaction sessions. Meanwhile, introverts are usually thought-oriented and they only love social interactions that are meaningful.

Sensing [S] –Intuition [I]

It involves characterizing people by the way they gather information from the surrounding environment. Those who are great at sensing usually pay attention to reality. They mainly focus on facts and details. Besides that, the love hands-on experience. On the other hand, those who love intuition pay attention to impressions and patterns. They often imagine in the future and think about possibilities.

Thinking [T] – Feeling [F]

This Myers Briggs Type Indicator scale is used to determine how many use the information obtained from Sensing-Intuition scale to make decisions. Thinkers usually place lots of emphasis on objective data and facts. Additionally, they are impersonal, logical, and consistent in decision making. On the other hand, those who prefer to feel usually try to consider emotions and other people before making decisions.

Judging [J] – Perceiving [P]

Those who love judgment usually like firm decisions and structures while those who love perceiving are adaptable, more flexible and open to life. Note that the Judging-Perceiving scale can be used to determine if you are an extravert or if you love new information i.e. sensing-intuition.

How to Use It

Unlike some of the free career self-assessment tools, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator isn’t really a ‘test’. This is because there are no right or wrong answers. Additionally, all personality traits are equal. There are various versions of this personality indicator and the score is usually obtained from a scale with two different options to choose from.

When to Use It

If you are working with others especially as workmates or in groups, it’s important to do this test. Myers Briggs Type Indicator helps you to understand your strengths and weakness which can be very helpful. Realizing that you and other members in your work settings are equipped with certain skills leads to better productivity and interactions.

Advantages of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator

It offers insights about different personalities

The test is usually administered by a qualified practitioner

Disadvantages of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator

There are many versions of this personality indicator each with different types and numbers of questions

Not reliable. You can get different results from doing the same test

Final Thoughts

A personal assessment tool like the Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a test that’s designed to assist people understand their personality traits better. It helps you to know your skills as well as the level of intelligence leading to better personal as well as professional growth.